Pearls are thought to have been discovered while early gatherers were searching for food. Since their discovery, pearls have been considered among the most beautiful and magical of all gems. In fact, in the ancient world, pearls had the greatest value of all material things.

In Asia, people believed that pearls evolved from drops of moisture that fell from dragons in the sky. When the drops landed in seashells and were nourished by moonbeams, they would soon turn into pearls. Natural pearls are produced from about two dozen types of mollusks. Despite this fact, natural pearls remain very rare. In fact, today the most likely place to find natural pearls is at an estate sale or an antique shop. In today’s retail market, cultured pearls are the norm.